Mobile County inmate woke up in hospital sexually assaulted by correctional officer

MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) – Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch released new details Tuesday regarding the arrest of a corrections officer accused of first-degree sodomy.

Burch Timothy Lee Scarbrough, 39, of Theodore, was in charge of guarding an inmate who was taken to the hospital late last week for eye surgery after getting into an argument with another inmate. The sheriff said the inmate was under anesthesia and woke up to find he had been sexually assaulted.

Burch said investigators used a sex offender kit. The sheriff's office launched an investigation Monday and by the end of the day, Harden was released and in custody.

“I guess his story was so credible that when the investigation was completed, it was determined that he was largely telling the truth,” he said. “And again, we will not tolerate this kind of behavior from any staff member, any correctional officer or any deputy.”

Burch said Scarbrough has worked as a correctional officer since last fall and there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

“I found no evidence of previous misconduct,” he said. “There is no record of any disciplinary action in his personnel file. Supervisors said he generally does a good job when he is at work.”

Burch said it would be better to have two correctional officers for each inmate hospitalized, but there are financial constraints.

“It would be nice to have more people, if they were paid for overtime,” he said. “Of course there are advantages to having more than one person. But the budget just doesn't allow it.”

Scarbrough is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing on Wednesday. Burch said he is being held in solitary confinement because he used to work as a prison guard.

Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said more evidence would be presented at a preliminary hearing.

“We believe there is evidence to confirm the victim's statements to authorities,” he said.

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